Satan hasn't changed his tactics since he deceived Eve in the garden. He whispers half-truths, tickles our ears with "adjusted" doctrines that sound right, and often are half-right.

He never says, don't be a Christian. Just the opposite. He says, go for it. You'll make a great Christian, but there's a couple of little things God didn't get right. We've fixed all that and you're gonna rock this Christian gig.

Many religionists are very close to right, with only one or two teachings corrupted by the wolves. Departure from any one of the doctrines given to the first church is all it takes to fail the doctrine check to qualify as a New Testament Church.

Can't you just hear Satan chuckling, don't be silly. That's ridiculous. Society has changed and Christianity has to change with it. Besides, God loves everybody. He's not going to hold one little thing against you. Do you really think he'd let you go to hell for something so ridiculous? Besides, you're way too smart and sophisticated for that foolishness. Nobody believes that stuff anymore. Get with the program, bud/sis.

It's not difficult to compare religionist doctrines and God's doctrines (which Satan DOES NOT want you to do.). There's one doctrine that seems to be THE ONE religionists get wrong, even if they get all the others right. It is the bedrock of Jesus' sacrifice and the foundation of a scriptural New Testament Church so we'll start there.

GRACE - literally "unmerited favor." What is that exactly? It's a gift you can't buy, work for or steal. In Western Christian theology, grace is "the love and mercy given to us by God because God desires us to have it, not because of anything we have done to earn it". It is not a created substance of any kind. ... It is an attribute of God that is most manifest in the salvation of sinners. Unmerited favor.

So, want to know if a religion passes the "grace test"? Of the thousands of religions, we’ve chosen a few of the mainstream ones to compare their salvation doctrines to what the Bible, by God’s inspiration says about it.

However, to do so in one blog would be far too lengthy, so stay tuned. We’ll be considering this subject in the next three or four blogs. We’ll be looking at Jehovah’s Witness, Mormon, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Methodists, and others.